Cattle-guard.



' H. H. HERRING.

CATTLE GUARD.

APPLIUATIOK FILED APB..19. 1910.

Patented Aug. 23, 1910.

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H. H. HERRING.

CATTLE GUARD.

APPLIOATIOH FILED un. 19, 1910.

Pa tented Aug. 23, 1910.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY H. HER-RING, OF ATASGOSA, TEXAS.

CATTLE-GUARD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 23, 1910.

Application filed April 19, 1910. Serial No. 556,306.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, HENRY H. HERRING, a citizen of the United States,residing at Atascosa, in the county of Bexar and State of Texas, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Cattle-Guards, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to devices for preventing cattle, horses, orother stock from passing upon a railroad from one field to the other,and the primary object of the invention is to simplify and improvedevices of this character by providing a cattle guard which is of acomparatively simple structure, cheap to manufacture, and which willperform the functions for which it is intended with ease and withaccuracy.

With these and other objects in view, which will appear as thedescription progresses, the invention resides in the novel constructionand combination of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings there has been illustrated a simple andpreferred embodiment of the improvement, and in which drawings, Figure 1is atop plan view ofa cattle guard constructed in accordance with myimprovement. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view upon the line 22 ofFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view upon the line 33 ofFig. 1. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view taken upon an enlarged scaleand illustrating the method of connecting the plates to thelongitudinally extending members. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of thecentral plate, the same being shown in an inverted position.

In the drawings, the numeral 1 designates a pair of railway rails. Theserails are spaced apart in the usual manner and are positioned upon theties 2 through the medium of the usual spikes.

The numeral 3 designates the improved guard. This guard 3 comprises aplurality of members, designated by the numeral 1, and arranged in pairsadjacent the sides of the rails 1 and between the rails. Thelongitudinally extending members 1 are retained in position adjacent therails through the medium of suitable spikes 5. These members 4 eachcomprise a section constructed of suitable metal or other materialhaving a vertical flange 6 and an offset or horizontal flange 7, thelatter being provided with openings adapted for the reception of spikeswhereby the members are retained upon the ties. The vertical members 8are each provided with alining openings 9,'and the said openings areeach adapted for the reception of a removable pintle 10 upon which issecured a plate 11. This plate 11 provides a substantially rectangulararcuate member 12 having offset sides adapted to provide a pocketwherein the weights may be introduced to sustain the plates in asubstantially horizontal position. By this arrangement, it will be notedthat the arcuate members 12 having the pockets 13 may be balancedaccording to the added or extracted weights to sustain the said plate ina substantially horizontal plane. Each series of plates 11 are connectedtogether through the medium of suitable flexible elements 14 so thatshould one of the plates be tramped upon by an animal the remainder ofthe plates will be also tilted. The chains or other connecting members 1are not only adapted to tilt the remaining plates but to impart a noiseto the plates when the same are tilted and thus frighten the animal soas to cause him to retract his course and move away from the railwaytrack.

The numeral 17 designates a transversely arranged bar positioned betweenthe tracks 1. This bar 17 is centrally provided with a serrated,preferably metallic surface, and the central plate 18 lying directlyabove the said serrated surface is provided with a depending flexiblemember, such as a knotted chain 19. By this arrangement, it will benoted that should an animal tread upon any one of the plates 11 thecentral plate rotated upon its shaft will cause the knotted or soundmaking member to pass over the irregular surface provided by thetransverse member and thus sound an alarm to cause the animal toretreat.

From the above description, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, it will be noted that I have provided a simple and inexpensivedevice for the purpose intended, it being apparent that an animalstepping upon any of the plates will cause the remaining plates to betilted and a grating noise, sufiicient to frighten the animal will becaused by the chains contacting the adjacent plates and the serrated bar17, and it will be still further noted that the plates being providedeach adjacent their pivotal connection with the pockets wherein weightsare positioned will cause the said plates to swing for a considerablelength of time before the plates regain their equilibrium, and while Ihave illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of theimprovement, as it now appears to me, minor details of construction,within the scope of the following claims, may be resorted to if desired.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new is 1. Incombination with railway rails and ties therefor, of longitudinallyextending members arranged in pairs between the ties and adjacent thesides thereof, said members being provided with pivots, plates connectedwith the pivots, each of the series of plates being flexibly connectedtogether, and a sounding member connected with one of the plates.

2. In a device of the class described, a cattle guard for railway rails,said cattle guard comprising a plurality of pivoted metallic plateshaving their ends connected together through the medium of flexiblesound making elements, substantially as described.

3. In a device for the purpose set forth, the combination with a pair ofrailway rails and ties therefor, longitudinal members arranged in pairsbetween the rails and adjacent the sides of the rails, said membersbeing provided with alining openings, plates having pivots engaging theopenings, resilient sound making elements connecting each of theadjacent plates, the central plate being provided with a depending soundmaking element, and a contact for the said element.

4. In a device for the purpose set forth, a plurality of plates,flexible sounding connections for said plates, one of said plates beingprovided with a downwardly extending flexible sound producing element,and a transversely arranged member positioned beneath the central plateand adapted to be contacted by the said sound element so as to add tothe tonation thereof.

5. In a device of the class set forth, a plurality of pivoted plates,said plates being each connected together through the medium of aflexible sound producing element, the plates adjacent their pivotalconnections being provided with curved pockets adapted for the receptionof weights, and whereby the said plates will be caused to rotate upontheir pivots after any of the said plates have been contacted.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY H. HERRING. lVitnesses E. R. VISDOM, Horny L. MANN.

